The Contact Center Gurus

Jessica Voss
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

The Podcast for Contact Center and Customer Experience Leaders! Learn Best Practices, New Technology, Tips & Tricks, and more. Listen in!

  1. Escape the AI Graveyard: Why Most Bots Fail & How to Build AI That Actually Resolves

    Jun 18

    Escape the AI Graveyard: Why Most Bots Fail & How to Build AI That Actually Resolves

    Every contact center has an AI graveyard. Failed chatbots. Pilots that never scaled. The root cause is almost never the technology — it's a lack of AI readiness, unclear use cases, and AI that was built to respond rather than resolve. In Episode 5 of the Contact Center Gurus Podcast, host Darren Prine is joined by Mike Schulman, VP of Channel Sales at Yellow.ai, for a no-hype breakdown of what separates the AI implementations that work from the ones that get shut down. Mike has been in the room for over 1,100 enterprise AI deployments across 85+ countries. He knows exactly where the line is. What they cover: Why 60–70% of companies aren't even at AI readiness level one yet — and what that means before you evaluate any vendor The difference between generative AI and agentic AI, and why most vendors are using the term "agentic" incorrectly Why AI resolution rates went from 5% in 2022 to 60–80% today — and where they're headed in the next two years The "build once, deploy many" approach that lets CX teams own the platform without writing a single line of code Real case studies: Waste Connections (25,000+ monthly calls automated, $3.5–4M saved) and Feral Gas ($14.5M in net new business from end-to-end order automation) How to pick your first use case, show ROI fast, and build from there Key Insight: The companies winning with AI right now didn't go all in on day one. They picked one or two high-volume, repetitive use cases, showed value fast, and expanded from there. That's the playbook. About Yellow.ai: Yellow.ai is an AI-first customer service automation platform with 1,100+ enterprise deployments across 85+ countries. Named clients include Sony, Domino's, Hyundai, Waste Connections, and Randstad. Produced by Darren Prine and the Cloud Tech Gurus team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders.

    58 min
  2. Stop Paying for Agents. Start Paying for Outcomes. | Ft. Siddharth Victor, Movate

    May 21

    Stop Paying for Agents. Start Paying for Outcomes. | Ft. Siddharth Victor, Movate

    The BPO industry is splitting in two — commodity providers heading toward irrelevance, and transformation partners capturing all the growth. In this episode, Darren Prine sits down with Siddharth Victor, SVP & Head of Support Services at Movate, to break down why the traditional BPO model is structurally misaligned with what clients actually need — and what the shift to outcome-based CX looks like in practice. Sid brings 23 years of experience, starting as a tech support engineer and now leading Movate's entire CX and enterprise support sales and solutions division. What we cover: Why traditional BPO contracts are built to fail clients How AI is eliminating labor arbitrage as a defensible business model A real gaming company case study: 6% → 86% autonomous resolution, AHT cut 80%, cost per interaction down 66.5% What outcome-based contracts actually require from both sides The single biggest reason outsourcing engagements fail Resources & Links: Free research report — Transform or Become Extinct: cloudtechgur.us/BPO-MCXP Connect with Siddharth Victor: linkedin.com/in/sid-victor-3355b73 Learn more about Movate: movate.com Connect with Cloud Tech Gurus: cloudtechgurus.com Produced by Darren Prine and the Cloud Tech Gurus team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders.

    46 min
  3. Stop Buying Chatbots, Start Deploying AI Agents

    Apr 23

    Stop Buying Chatbots, Start Deploying AI Agents

    Most healthcare contact centers have tried chatbots and been burned. But what's possible today with AI agents is dramatically different. In this episode, Darren Prine sits down with Rebecca Clyde, Co-Founder and CEO of Botco.ai, to break down what AI in regulated environments actually looks like when it's built right — from day one. What you'll hear in this episode: Why early chatbots failed healthcare — and what changed How a 25-location behavioral health provider built a live agent backup system and never needed it Why patients in behavioral health feel less judged talking to AI than to a human How AI detects crisis signals and adverse medication reactions in real time The AI companion built for cancer patients getting answers in under 30 seconds Why the bar isn't resolution rates — it's quality of life How AI is matching patients to clinical trials in seconds from a doctor's phone Want to explore AI solutions for your contact center? Visit us: https://www.cloudtechgurus.com Learn more about Botco.ai: https://www.botco.ai Produced by Darren Prine and the Cloud Tech Gurus team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders.

    36 min
  4. Why the Simplest Contact Center in the Room Keeps Winning

    Mar 26

    Why the Simplest Contact Center in the Room Keeps Winning

    Jim Murphy didn't start out building contact centers. He started with a pager business out of a college apartment in the San Fernando Valley. Then the 1994 Northridge earthquake flooded his inventory, FEMA sent a $2,000 check, and a business mentor told him to stop pretending and get a real office. Thirty years later, Jim is the CEO and Co-Founder of BroadVoice — a cloud communications company operating across four continents. Along the way he built DSL Extreme, the largest independent ISP in California, competed with Vonage head to head, and in 2021 acquired GoContact, a Portugal-based CCaaS platform built for enterprise BPOs. That acquisition gave him a front row seat to how the most demanding contact centers in the world actually operate. In this episode, Darren and Jim get into the real cost of platform complexity — what it actually means when agents are toggling between four systems while customers repeat themselves on every call, and why layering AI onto that mess only makes things worse. They walk through a real healthcare case study — a hospital system with surgical centers, urgent care clinics, and an offshore BPO, all running with zero visibility into the patient journey — and what changed when everything moved to one platform. Jim also shares his take on the BPO industry, where he sees a clear split forming between providers that have embraced AI and outcome-based models, and those still billing by the human hour. His view on what the next five years look like for the partner community is one of the most direct takes you'll hear. In this episode: → What platform complexity is really costing you beyond the license fees → Why agents starting from zero on every call is a stack problem, not a people problem → A real healthcare case study and what unified CX looks like in practice → Why data analytics is as important today as the dial tone itself → The BPO split — clear winners and clear losers playing out in real time → What it means to shift from selling hours to selling outcomes → Why the next five years will be the most transformational in contact center history Produced by Darren Prine and the Cloud Tech Gurus team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders.

    34 min
  5. AI Readiness vs. AI Deployment: Why Getting the Order Wrong Costs Millions

    Mar 24

    AI Readiness vs. AI Deployment: Why Getting the Order Wrong Costs Millions

    Most organizations buy AI and call it a day. But that's exactly where the real work begins. Darren Prine sits down with Wayne Butterfield, Founder of STX-AI, to unpack why so many AI initiatives fail — not because of the technology, but because of what happens after the purchase. What you'll learn: Why procurement is the starting line, not the finish line What post-deployment scaffolding actually looks like How to treat AI as a capability, not just a technology Why customer experience design still gets the basics wrong About Wayne Butterfield: Wayne is the Founder of STX-AI. For more than 15 years, he has helped organizations navigate AI, automation, and digital transformation — from early RPA deployments to today's agentic AI capabilities. ▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rwTrwQ11Ubk Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@thecontactcenterguruspodcast Produced by Darren Prine and the Cloud Tech Gurus team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders.

    1h 4m
  6. From AI Chaos to Customer Confidence: Building Virtual Agents That Actually Work

    12/18/2025

    From AI Chaos to Customer Confidence: Building Virtual Agents That Actually Work

    Guest: Adam Fenwick, SVP Global Alliances, Boost.ai Topic: Conversational AI in contact centers Focus: Strategy, design, regulation, and scale Audience: CX leaders, contact center executives, IT and digital leaders Produced by Darren Prine and the Cloud Tech Gurus team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders.

    47 min
  7. Modern Knowledge Management: Unlocking Real CX Results

    12/04/2025

    Modern Knowledge Management: Unlocking Real CX Results

    Guest: Tyler Dixon, SVP of Sales at LivePro Host: Darren Prine — The Contact Center Gurus Podcast Connect with us: Website: https://cloudtechgurus.com/ YouTube: The Contact Center Gurus Podcast Produced by Darren Prine and the Cloud Tech Gurus team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders.

    35 min
  8. Automation and AI in Support: Keeping the Human Touch

    11/06/2025

    Automation and AI in Support: Keeping the Human Touch

    This episode dives deep into the balance between automation and human connection in modern customer support. Dan O’Connell, CEO of Front, joins Darren Prine to unpack how Front powers over 9,000 businesses to deliver seamless, personalized service at scale — using AI the right way. From breaking silos to redefining collaboration, Dan explains why the best companies are moving toward unified customer operations platforms that combine AI efficiency with human empathy. 💬 Key Takeaways: Don’t automate for the sake of automating — start small, scale smart A single platform can power every channel: chat, email, voice, and social Unified inboxes improve visibility, collaboration, and agent confidence AI should enhance relationships, not replace them 🎧 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CTt1y0gyWMo 📺 Subscribe for more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@thecontactcenterguruspodcast?sub_confirmation=1 Produced by Darren Prine and the Cloud Tech Gurus team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders.

    31 min
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The Podcast for Contact Center and Customer Experience Leaders! Learn Best Practices, New Technology, Tips & Tricks, and more. Listen in!

Information

  • Creator
    Jessica Voss
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2021 The Contact Center Gurus
  • Show Website
    The Contact Center Gurus